National Reconciliation
By Shireen M. Mazari
Clearly, as the polity
struggles against polarization, divisiveness, violence
and a growing hatred towards "the other",
national reconciliation is perhaps the most critical
balm the nation needs. Through a process of national
reconciliation, we can evolve an acceptance of the
diversity that defines the richness of this nation.
We can begin the process of healing what is tearing
our polity apart and leading to death and destruction.
Perhaps we can even set our political psyche and
processes on a more positive course of cooperation
rather than collision, with a greater respect for
differing perspectives. Equally important, we can
begin to reach out to the marginalized within our
polity so that they can become part of the mainstream.
Perhaps most critical, we can begin to extricate
ourselves from the murderous policies and agendas
of both the born-again American neo-cons and the
Al Qaeda-extremist combine. If the Al Qaeda leadership
has openly avowed destruction for the state of Pakistan,
the US is leading us down the same path through
more covert ruses and designs. The result of the
manner in which the US-led war on terror is being
conducted has been to not only create more space
for terrorists across the globe but to directly
undermine the security edifice of Pakistan.
Look at what is happening to our troops in Waziristan
and our civil society in not only the tribal belt
but also in and around the cities of the NWFP. Terrorists
are kidnapping our security personnel and murdering
the poor soldiers in a blood-letting so contrary
to the religion they allege to be upholding. Even
more distressing are the constant reports of 'disappearances'
and 'kidnappings' of soldiers and security personnel
in FATA. It is as puzzling as it is sad to hear
of a hundred plus armed soldiers falling prey to
a dozen or so terrorists. But perhaps finding the
answer to the puzzle may be a greater source of
sorrow. And what of the daily threats unleashed
by the extremists against the population around
the cities and villages of NWFP? Women are under
a state of siege, as are educational institutions
and music/video shops. While the rest of urban Pakistan
has been caught up in the political and judicial
confrontations at the center, a dangerous extremist
wave has continued to gain momentum in NWFP.
Equally threatening has been the creeping intrusion
of foreign business interests into our public enterprises.
Privatization has acquired a whole new meaning today
in Pakistan -- almost becoming a bargain basement
sale of public entities! In some cases, we have
managed to alienate our most stable and constant
ally, China, in the process -- something the US
has been seeking for some time and using a not-so-subtle
indirect approach on this front. As for the poor
citizenry, they are engulfed in a spiral of increasing
prices, wheat and sugar mafias, and an unresponsive
state. No wonder, then, that civil society has shown
its distaste for taking to the streets to protest
for the cause of any political leader, even as it
has come out in the thousands to lend support for
the cause of the judiciary.
Amidst these trying times, one has seen a growing
disconnect between the State and nation. That is
why when national reconciliation became the buzzword
within the power corridors of the State one hoped
it would lead to a reaching out to all the diverse
factors within the polity for a dialogue and an
accommodation of 'the other', so that the marginalized
are mainstreamed and political dissent becomes part
of an all-accepting democratic culture that prevents
the use of violence and spread of hate and polarization
which seem to have become part of our political
discourse post the Zia dictatorship. After all,
'reconciliation' literally means 'harmonization',
'making friendly again' and 'inducing acceptance'.
So there was the hope that the state would take
the lead in accepting the rich diversity of the
Pakistani nation and of 'the other' – taking
the lead which the nation could follow.
After all, if the diverse and opposing forces within
the nation could gain acceptance within the political
landscape, they would be compelled to function within
the law. If certain laws were found wanting, then
a consensus could be developed to alter them. Certainly,
national reconciliation could never be thought of
to mean condoning criminal acts and corruption.
Alas, the nation's hopes of a grand national reconciliation
have been torn asunder. The National Reconciliation
Ordinance states that "it is expedient to promote
national reconciliation, foster mutual trust and
confidence amongst the holders of public office
and remove vestiges of political vendetta and victimization",
and what it seems to be doing is to condone the
alleged corruption and killings by holders of public
office. The use of the word 'expedient' is interesting
and the fact that what is being sought is 'trust'
among holders of public office. What has been found
wanting is trust between the holders of public office
and civil society, and this is certainly nowhere
in sight. Of course, many holders of public office
have yet to be convicted but does that prove their
innocence? If the holders of public office, charged
between January 1, 1986 and 12 October 1999, not
yet convicted are to be pardoned, then is national
accountability going to be only for civil society?
Also, knowing how the powerful manage to flee before
they can be nabbed (ouch!), why should a conviction
in absentia be void ab initio (treated as invalid
from the outset) given that states across the globe
pass sentences against people who may have fled
the country. That is presumably why Interpol exists
-- to bring the guilty to book.
President Musharraf's takeover in 1999 was welcomed
by so many in civil society because it brought with
it the promise of accountability for the holders
of public office and the hope that those who had
robbed the nation or had indulged in killings and
violence would now be removed from ever having access
to public space again. With all the issues and conflicts
that have arisen between the State and the people,
the latter have never sought to take on the former
to bring back the nightmares of the past. Certainly,
the call for democracy and civilian rule has grown
louder but not for a return to the loot and plunder
and political terrorism that was our past.
Ironically, the loudest applauders for sanctifying
the allegedly corrupt are those self-appointed guardians
of democracy -- America and Britain. And this is
perhaps our greatest tragedy: that those external
powers which bode ill for our country's well-being
are being allowed to indulge in political engineering
in Pakistan. We recognize the threat Al Qaeda poses
to our country, but the US is simply the flip side
of the same coin -- as we will discover if we read
our history carefully. Having found some nationalist
red lines within the Pakistani state, the US has
sought to seek out a far more compliant political
leadership. As for democracy, having suffered a
major trauma within the context of the democracy
agenda in Palestine which brought Hamas electoral
victory, the US is committed to preventing any successful
populist electoral result. So the people of Pakistan
now have to watch aghast at the thought that they
may be given a US-approved political road map rather
than unfettered democracy.
At the very least, if we are going to forgive and
forget the alleged misdeeds of our past public office
holders, we should have the South African model
of truth and reconciliation so that those forgiven
should at least have to confess their errors and
seek forgiveness from the nation before being allowed
back into public space. Now that would truly be
a substantive national reconciliation.
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. Courtesy The News)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
